French care homes company Orpea Group has agreed to buy the FirstCare collection of nursing homes from businessman Mervyn Smith in a deal understood to be worth more than €100 million, propelling it into the position of the largest private player in the sector in the State. Four of the underlying properties in the nursing home group were acquired in 2017 by a French property investment company, called Promonial Reim, under a sale-and-leaseback deal. It is believed that the deal with Orpea also involves pipeline nursing home developments linked to Mr Smith. Brindley struck a deal last month to buy Belmont Care, a nursing home in Stillorgan, south Dublin, adding a further 161 beds. All told, Orpea will have 1,961 beds after the FirstCare purchase closes, making it the largest private operator in a fast-consolidating sector that has attracted a flood of European institutional investment in recent years.

Source: The Irish Times May 13, 2021 05:00 UTC